The present invention generally relates to the field of ink jet printers and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for refilling ink cartridges used with such printers.
A significant expense associated with the operation of ink jet printers is the cost of replacing the printer's ink cartridge once the cartridge's charge of ink has been exhausted. Over the lifetime of a printer, this cost can be substantial. The structural components of the ink cartridge, however, are quite durable and capable of far outlasting the cartridge's ink charge. As a result, discarding an ink cartridge simply because its ink charge has been expended is a wasteful, expensive practice.
Recently, the practice of recharging ink cartridges has become popular. In accordance therewith, rather than discarding a cartridge simply because its ink charge has been expended, the cartridge is recharged with a fresh supply of printing ink. Present methods involve dispensing the new charge of ink to the cartridge through a breather port provided in the top of the cartridge. A problem with this practice, however, is that since breather ports are constructed only for the purpose of allowing air to pass into the cartridge while ink is sprayed out, they are not particularly well suited for passing ink into the cartridge. The present practice of recharging ink cartridges, therefore, is typically a messy, inefficient process.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for improving the present practice of recharging ink cartridges. It is anther object of the invention to provide a kit for recharging ink cartridges that allows cartridges to be recharged with less ink spillage, and hence more economy, than known methods. It is still another object of the invention to provide an improved method for recharging ink cartridges.